While introducing the doctor who helped her friend defeat cancer, Dr. Beth Y. Karlan, the Les Misérables actress broke down in tears, thanking her for saving her friend's life.

"I told [my friend] when she was going through [her cancer battle] if there was ever anything I could do to support the organization that was supporting her that I hope she wouldn't hesitate to ask, and so then they asked me to come be a part of the Pink Party this year," Hathaway said before the event, which raised $1.7 million for the Women's Cancer Program.

Considering cancer's wide scope of affliction, many of the celebrities in attendance had their own personal experiences with cancer through their loved ones that inspired them to continue to raise awareness and funds for further research to combat the disease.

"Cancer is a plague, honestly it is," said fashion stylist Rachel Zoe. "My family's been plagued with it. ... My sister's battling breast cancer right now; my mother had it. ... It's just one of those things. You got to come and support; you got to raise awareness. We have to figure out how to cure this."

Watch the video above to hear celebrities talk about combatting cancer at this year's Pink Party.